By coincidence, just as it was being completed, I am in the Bay area for a few weeks (conference and vacation, and conference), and arranged with Blaine to check it out while I've been out here.

First off, a huge hats-off and big thanks to Blaine Dehmlow for way, way, above-and-beyond, over-the-top service and attention. What I envisioned would be a short visit to sit on it and maybe ride it around the block before it got shipped to NYC turned into a few days of serious shake-down, with Blaine, tweaking, fine-tuning, and making it not just a perfect bike, but the perfect bike for me. All it needs now is the 600 mile service!

First day, he trailered his and my bikes out to where I was staying with friends, (I thought he was closer, I found out the next day how far away it was... my bad ) and he proceded to lead me on a spirited ride up CA-1 from Mill Valley, stopping along the way to talk and adjust and tweak. Next day I rode it out and met him at the Carnegie ORV park, for a few hours of serious off-road beating , and more talking, and minor mods / adjustments. Then back to the shop where he custom fabbed a quick temporary exhaust heat shield, and I wired in my GPS and some heated grips.

Next day, I solo'd north on 101 in the rain, cut west across the mountains to the coast on a twisty dirt road where I had a little adventure with a downed tree , and rode highway 1 back to my friends in Mill Valley, a 250+ mile day.

Dropped it off to Blaine, with a short punch list, went to Seattle for a few days with LDF, and when I got back to SF, got an email asking if I wanted to check out what he'd done... finished all the niggly little things we had talked about. Swung out there to ride it again yesterday,... and it is perfect . Like I said, above and beyond. And I miss it already .

I've gone back and read DD's post #25 on this thread, and I don't have a whole lot to add. Bulls eye. Home run. The thing kicks ass. Solid in the dirt, built like it could take a hit, the thing begs to get dirty, and still a Ducati on the road... 97mph (by GPS) on interstate, and single-track comfortably in the same day ... I haven't dropped it (yet), but I found I was riding it with the same mentality as I rode the DR... this is not a show-bike... it is a tool. I put in a 10 hour day on it, in the rain, with serious bushwhacking (er, tree-whacking) and twisties, and I could have done another 10 hours the next day... very comfortable.

I forgot the camera-computer cable at home, so no pics until I get back to NYC next week.

The one observation I may add that may not be clear from previous discussion in the thread is that this is a chopped Monster. Chopped in the truest and fullest sense of the term. I can't imagine doing this as a kit... it's way more than just unbolting and bolting on new forks and wheels. And if (big IF) you did, with all that work and expense, you'd want to start with a fresh, new donor monster, not some ratty salvage.

Imagine all the creativity, craftsmanship, work, engineering, effort and artistry that goes into one of those OCC cruiser bikes to achieve whatever it is they have as priorities... now imagine all that creativity, craftsmanship, work, engineering, effort and artistry applied to make a reliable, high-quality, field-servicable, dual-sport bike out of a Ducati monster... you get the idea.

I didn't think I'd say this once I sold the DR and got this bike, but... anyone up for Ellenville?

__________________"I came into this game for the action, the excitement; go anywhere, travel light... get in, get out... wherever there's trouble, a man alone... Now they got the whole country sectioned off; you can't make a move without a form." --Robert De Niro as Archibald 'Harry' Tuttle in Brazil, 1985. The Mobius Tripindex | Spot tracking live 4/18-5/4/13 | AdventureLoft™ Tent Space

Listed at 33.75"-34.75" by specs, depending on seat choice (I stuck with the stock seat, --aftermarket is 1" lower). Feels about the same as my DR650 (spec there is 34.8") which was also set up with heavier springs & preload front and rear, and had a corbin seat which raised it a tad.

__________________"I came into this game for the action, the excitement; go anywhere, travel light... get in, get out... wherever there's trouble, a man alone... Now they got the whole country sectioned off; you can't make a move without a form." --Robert De Niro as Archibald 'Harry' Tuttle in Brazil, 1985. The Mobius Tripindex | Spot tracking live 4/18-5/4/13 | AdventureLoft™ Tent Space

Listed at 33.75"-34.75" by specs, depending on seat choice (I stuck with the stock seat, --aftermarket is 1" lower). Feels about the same as my DR650 (spec there is 34.8") which was also set up with heavier springs & preload front and rear, and had a corbin seat which raised it a tad.

Thanks, now I want one even more. I was expecting to hear 36" plus which I wouldn't be able handle daily.

nice Rock! can't wait to see it at the Ear. I'm assuming you'll be adding aluminum panniers? If ya need it ridden back to NY well then.....I'd be up for it.

What was your OTD price if you don't mind sharing, and is it or will it be registered as a Duc or a custom?

It's being shipped here, I reckon it'll be showing up in NYC towards the end of Nov... Just in time for wet leaves, mud, and a little slush if we're lucky. It will be 100% poseuring at the Ear if I ride it over since I can more easily walk there. But, if y'all insist,...

Blaine worked out side racks that are best suited for soft-panniers. (they'll also have removable passenger pegs for emergency buddy extrication, and short sight-seeing trips around the city... not suitable for serious 2-up touring) The racks are and easy bolt-on/off, so unless I'm travelling with the side bags, the racks will be off. I'm going to order some Andy Strapz Expedition Panniers for them. I'll be putting on a rear rack, and a cheap JCWhitney top case to store the cover / helmet / EZPass, & other city motorbiking things... I've got the bagster tank protector, and the smallest bagster tank bag for tools / first-aid kit. I should be pretty close to the same carrying capacity as the DR with the 1550 Pelicans.

There really isn't an OTD price... it's like any bike that you buy, and then upon which you start doing custom work, farkling, and modding... The process essentially starts by sending Overland a deposit which covers the cost of a new Monsteer 695, and about 1/2 of the customization cost. Overland buys the bike under your name, and the Duc dealer sends you the Cert. of Origin, and Overland picks up the bike. You get it insured. You take the C of O to DMV, pay the sales tax, and DMV registers it as a Duc Monster 695. Overland dismantles your new ride almost completely, and chops it up into little pieces, and then rebuilds it as a Terra Mostro. You have long intricate discussions about bark busters and handlebar bends and bar risers and spring weights and shock options and stuff like that with Blaine. Depending on all that, the final payment brings the total to what they list as the base, or more.

Let me put it in perspective. I bought a used '00 DR650 in great shape from Jungle Jim. Over the course of a year or so I had fun upgrading, modding, and making it just right for me. I did most of the work myself (except for the prophylactic fiber to metal base gasket swap -- $865) I had no idea how much I had spent all said and done until Road Dawg asked me for a list of the mods and upgrades I had done before he bought the bike from me... I had kept all the records and receipts, and just for kicks I did the math: nearly 2X again what I had paid for it. Doesn't seem unreasonable when you do it in bits and pieces somehow, but it adds up.

Hey, I'm happy to answer any questions at all about the bike, but for me regarding the money, I'll only say this: It's not about the money.

Downloading photos now.

__________________"I came into this game for the action, the excitement; go anywhere, travel light... get in, get out... wherever there's trouble, a man alone... Now they got the whole country sectioned off; you can't make a move without a form." --Robert De Niro as Archibald 'Harry' Tuttle in Brazil, 1985. The Mobius Tripindex | Spot tracking live 4/18-5/4/13 | AdventureLoft™ Tent Space

What is the suspension travel? the seat seems a bit confining and far back for a dirt bike. also most off road bikes have increased eng-cooling for off road work. was that or How was that accomplished? normally you add bigger and or more fins if its an air cooled machine. Offroad is way more demanding then tooling around the local twistys at speed heat wise.. It is one heck of a cool looking bike. I would be hard pressed to pick it over the hypermotard as they both look so cool. They need to bring back the elephant!!!

What is the suspension travel? the seat seems a bit confining and far back for a dirt bike. also most off road bikes have increased eng-cooling for off road work. was that or How was that accomplished? normally you add bigger and or more fins if its an air cooled machine. Offroad is way more demanding then tooling around the local twistys at speed heat wise.. It is one heck of a cool looking bike. I would be hard pressed to pick it over the hypermotard as they both look so cool. They need to bring back the elephant!!!

The elefant doesn't have extra cooling over the road bikes that use the same engine. That might explain why mine shoots flames on the overrun when I get a hussle on...

What is the suspension travel? the seat seems a bit confining and far back for a dirt bike. also most off road bikes have increased eng-cooling for off road work. was that or How was that accomplished? normally you add bigger and or more fins if its an air cooled machine. Offroad is way more demanding then tooling around the local twistys at speed heat wise.. It is one heck of a cool looking bike. I would be hard pressed to pick it over the hypermotard as they both look so cool. They need to bring back the elephant!!!

Suspension: Travel is a bit over 8", but the ground clearance is 11.25". The suspension is better than the DR's, even after I had installed on the DR heavier springs F&R, revalved the rear shock, and put RaceTech cartridge emulators in the front forks. After they tweaked the Terra Mostro's front forks preload spacer and oil level based on my feedback, it was WAY better than the DR.

I rode it as aggressively as I could (not saying much) at an ORV park on single-track with baby-head sized rocks, and whoops, and didn't bottom out. It's definitely easier to lift the front wheel over obstacles than the DR was. I'm 220lb; a better or bigger rider would likely find the limits to the suspension, I could not, and likely will never. Front Kayaba forks are the same as on the XR650R's, Wilbers rear shock. I'm not looking at this as a full-time trails / dirt-bike, but rather a very off-road capable adventure tourer (and a mini-motard with the stock wheels !).

Seat comfort: Peg to tank relationship is radically different than the stock Monster. No problem with long legs and knees hitting the tank contours unnaturally as they do for me on the stock Monster. I'm 6'3". It is as comfortable as the DR was standing for rough single-track, and also as comfortable sitting on two-track, dirt road or highway as the DR (with the Corbin seat), ie: all-day comfortable.

Overheating: This was an early concern of mine as well. I have been informed that by reputation, the Ducati engine can take the abuse, most of the riding that has been done on the prototypes has been in desert heat, (There's a group riding Reno to Las Vegas this weekend -- I was THIS close to joining them... damn work), and in my 600 shake-down miles, engine temp (monitored on the dash) was well within spec. Again, conceivably an aggressive rider in extrodinarily hot conditions, fully loaded, riding single-track, uphill for hours could overheat the engine, but that's probably true for any bike. I'm not losing sleep.

RE: the elefant; tough to find specs for suspension travel. The best I could find was the '86 Cagiva 650: 454lbs, 43mm forks, 9" front travel and 8" rear. Nice write-up.

__________________"I came into this game for the action, the excitement; go anywhere, travel light... get in, get out... wherever there's trouble, a man alone... Now they got the whole country sectioned off; you can't make a move without a form." --Robert De Niro as Archibald 'Harry' Tuttle in Brazil, 1985. The Mobius Tripindex | Spot tracking live 4/18-5/4/13 | AdventureLoft™ Tent Space